MONITORING HUMAN RIGHTS
First Cycle of Ireland’s Universal Periodic Review concludes with events in Geneva and Dublin
Group. We also called upon the Irish Government to translate into deeds the commitments made during the UPR process, especially by timely ratification of all core UN human rights instruments. Other civil society organisations that took the floor were: COC Netherlands (Cultuur en OntspanningsCentrum), with whom Irish NGOs such as the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network and the Transgender Equality Network Ireland liaised; the Irish Family Planning Association (represented by Action Canada for Population and Development); Women’s Human Rights Alliance; Pavee Point; Amnesty International and the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children. Ashleigh Shaheen, intern at the Irish Penal Reform Trust, with Mark Kelly at Liberty Hall in Dublin Your Rights Right Now returned to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 15 March 2012 for the conclusion of the formal components of Ireland’s first UPR examination. During a one-hour session, the UN Human Rights Council considers whether to adopt the Outcome Report of the UPR Working Group (in this case the Outcome Report on Ireland). The Irish State was represented by Gerard Corr, Ireland’s Ambassador to the UN, who commenced proceedings by speaking about issues raised and recommendations made during the interactive dialogue session which took place on 6 October 2011. Responding to a number of UPR recommendations made to Ireland, the Ambassador spoke about the situation in
Irish prisons, the children’s rights referendum and the Constitutional Convention. He also commended Irish civil society groups for their engagement with the UPR process. In parallel with the activities in Geneva, the campaign held breakfast events in Dublin, Galway, Maynooth, Limerick and Cork, at which the Geneva hearing was screened live.
A number of other UN countries made interventions largely thanking Ireland for its positive engagement with the process and reiterating the importance of UPR implementation. Finally, representatives from NGOs, civil society organisations and the Irish Human Rights Commission had the opportunity to make two-minute statements. Building on our formal submission to the Nineteenth Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Deirdre Duffy, ICCL’s UPR Project Manager, presented the Your Rights Right Now statement which welcomed Ireland’s positive engagement with the UPR process and clear acceptance of 91 recommendations Civil Society groups in Dublin’s Liberty Hall watch the live webstream of the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva of the UPR Working
Ambassador Corr made a final intervention before the UN Human Rights Council voted to adopt the Outcome Report of the UPR Working Group during which he referred to upcoming legislation on gender recognition rights. Currently, the Your Rights Right Now campaign is busy documenting the numerous achievements of the coalition’s work. In the main, the UPR process has been a success for Ireland: we have received strong and worthwhile recommendations from our peers; it has opened a pathway of dialogue between civil society and government; and, there is a greater awareness and knowledge of human rights among the Irish public, community groups and media. Now we move into what is arguably the most important part of the process: the implementation stage. We were pleased to hear Ambassador Corr re-affirm the Irish Government’s commitment to an interim review to update on the progress of implementation which is due in 2013. Your Rights Right Now is firmly committed to the implementation process and, although a small number of recommendations in the Your Rights Right Now report were not picked up at the UN Human Rights Council, we will continue to push for progress on these issues. Please check in with our dedicated website www.rightsnow.ie to see updates on our plans for implementation of the UPR recommendations and how you can get involved.